What are you fighting for?
by poison blossom
Summary: Mulan and Shang are just good friend thankyou very much, but they soon have other things to worry about as Mulan's reputation causes more than a few problems... rated PG13 just to be safe, and possible violence in later chapters
1. Default Chapter

**Disclaimer: It's pretty obvious that I don't own Mulan, and all that lot. Actually I'd like to question whether Disney can really say they do ( It kinda seems like someone copyrighting King Arthur, or Robin Hood, especially as Mulan was a real person, I'm not too sure about my examples), but to stop me being sued I'll put this stuff in.**

_Author's note: This is my first ever fanfic so please don't treat me too harshly. I've been really into the Disney movie at the moment, and once I found this site I've hardly stopped reading. I've now been inspired to do something of my own. Here it goes…_

Mulan had made sure all her chores were done before she stepped into the garden, to give her mother no excuse to stop her. It had taken her a while, but now she'd been getting up early she found she could have most of them finished by mid-morning. It was a force of habit now, getting up early. Her months spent in the army had done that much at least.

She was careful not to let the sword drag as she walked. It was still in its scabbard, but it was now also instinctive to keep the weapon in good condition.

As she wandered through the garden she thought about why she still did this._ It's not as if you need to, is it?_ came a voice in her head. _Yes it is_ said another. That was stupid, she didn't _need_ to, did she? Well, whatever, she wanted to do it and she was going to.

She reached a secluded area and laid the sword down on the grass. She was quiet a moment, trying to calm herself before the routine began. She slowly stretched herself into a few positions.

She started with the basics, the jabs, kicks, weaving. Then she sped up. Jab, dodge, spin, kick, weave, jab, she went through them all, keeping perfect time as she added some more complicated moves. Her dress whirled about her. Yes, her dress. She still had her training clothes, and as her encounter with Shan-Yu had revealed it was actually possible to fight in her usual dress, but it wasn't the easiest thing in the world. As it was really too much hassle to change just for this, she'd done some work on her skirts to make it easier to move in them. She was glad she had, it was so much easier around the house, and you couldn't really tell by looking at them.

OK, not that much.

She carried on like this for a while, then made a short trip to the pond to cool her face. Now for the second part. She knelt down and slowly drew the sword out of its leather scabbard. It was sharp; she kept the blade in top condition. She stood up. A sword is only a tool, she knew, but she couldn't help the nameless feelings she had when she gripped the handle. She tied the scabbard to her sash. She continued like she'd done before, sometimes with the sword in her hand, sometimes with it hanging down from her waist. She was concentrating so hard on the manoeuvres that she did not hear anyone by her until they spoke.

'You're improving you know. But I'd be careful about your defences if I were you, I think they're getting a bit lax from having no one to spar with.' She finished a move then turned to face the speaker.

'What would you suggest then father?' she asked, smiling.

'Oh I don't know,' He said dryly, lowering himself onto a seat, 'perhaps you could teach your grandmother. I'm sure it'd do her bones good.'

' Ha! I don't think so, Baba, she'd probably send me flying.' She sat next to him.

' Do you often come here to practise your swordplay?' he asked her. She looked at him strangely for a moment.

' Why do you ask questions to which you already know the answer to?' she murmured, _(A/N I'm sure that's from somewhere, I can't remember where though. Anyone know?)_ watching the lilies in the pond sway with the ripples of the water. They both sat quiet for a while.

'Why do you do it?' There it was again, why. She was a little flustered

' I'm not really sure.' She said, ' I suppose I just don't want to loose what I found, just because I'm wearing a dress again.'

They were interrupted by sounds of confusion from the house. They both stood up in time to see Mulan's Grandmother chase Little Brother out of the house, the little dog holding a much-too-large chunk of meat in his mouth. The poor thing was struggling so hard not to be toppled over by it, and Grandma looked so funny flapping about after him, that they burst out laughing. The little woman heard them and shouted,

' Don't you stand there giggling, you great lumps, come and help!' Mulan rubbed the sword with an old cloth then she and her father moved off towards the house.

The miscreant canine had finally been caught, and Grandma had gone back to her cooking. Mulan had just returned the sword to its place when her father said,

' I forgot for a moment there, Mulan, your Mother sent me down to find you. She wants you to go to the village for her I think. She has some things she needs you to get.'

Mulan found her mother weaving at the loom. She was making a pattern of blossoms drifting down onto a pool of clear water, and though it wasn't complete it still looked beautiful. Mulan sometimes wished that she could work the wool like that, then she would give herself a mental shake. She was good at other things. She stepped into the room.

' Mama, Baba said you wanted me?' Her mother stopped working and turned around.

' Oh yes, dear. Li Chien is coming over today, and I just need you to fetch me some things.' A quarter of an hour later and she was on her way to the village.

She left Khan at one of the stabling posts, slipping him an apple to keep him quiet. She went over the list in her head and set off to the market.

When she had first returned from the army the idea of coming down to the village alone was almost beyond her. Yes she could face hoards of invading Huns, but having everyone in the whole street stare at her suddenly seemed a lot worse. She really couldn't cope with all the pointing and the whispering. Just buying the groceries had become an excruciating ordeal for her. Every time she heard a murmur she would blush and in her heightened state of embarrassment it felt like everything she did was wrong. When her father took to coming down with her they quietened a little, but they were still there, News had reached the villagers of her exploits, admittedly they had become a little distorted along the way, but it seemed that nearly everyone knew what had gone on that night in the Imperial city, and the time leading up to it.

But that was 6 months ago. It had more or less died down now, but it still lingered, just beneath the surface. She had learnt to rise above it, and now she wouldn't think twice about walking down a crowded street, the prospect of which would have sent her scurrying away a few months back.

And not all the whispers were cruel. She was, after all, the heroine of China, and there were a fair few who thought well of her for it. She had actually gained a sort of fan club made up of some of the younger girls; they would come up to her and ask shyly ask to hear about her time as a fighter, and give her timid smiles whenever they passed her in the street. She didn't mind but it did feel very strange to know that people looked up to her, she who had been publicly disgraced at her meeting with the Matchmaker. But Mulan's actions had sown a seed of knowledge in these girls, and that was this; that a woman _could_ perform great deeds, and be on equal terms with men. That a wife was more than just her husband, and was a person in her own right. Living in a society that was completely dominated by men, this was powerful stuff, and when something like that puts down roots, it becomes very difficult to rip it up.

As she made her way through the food market she checked off the items on her list as she went. Her mind wandered to the reason for the preparations. Li Chien was coming, and that meant that she'd probably be seeing some more of a certain  
Captain soon. It was a nice thought. She had come to see Li Shang as one of her greatest friends over the past few months, and he visited them often. Knowing a guy as well as she knew Shang, and for so long, usually meant you were married to him, but Mulan was fine with how things were, if nobody wanted to change them. She wasn't quite sure what she wanted where Shang was concerned. Being with him felt really good, and she knew she really liked him. After an initial degree of awkwardness they'd found it much easier just to be themselves with each other. Shang dropped the whole stern Captain business and acted like the nice guy he really was, albeit with a kinda sardonic sense of humour sometimes, and Mulan, not having to be dressed up like some porcelain doll, or acting the man in the army, didn't have to be anything she wasn't and was a lot happier for it. It had been interesting, getting to know him all over again, or so it seemed like sometimes. There were major differences between knowing someone as your Captain in the army, and knowing someone as a friend, especially when one of you hadn't actually realised you were a girl, something that she teased him mercilessly about.

She knew she had feelings for him, but what they were she wasn't quite sure. She'd never had the chance to mix with guys outside her family since she was little, and she had never even looked at a man in that way before. Then Shang turned up, with his smile that made her melt somewhere inside, his playful teasing, and the sensitive side of him that she saw every now and then, however hard he tried to act the tough military guy. Not that she didn't find the macho Shang quite attractive too. She often wondered if their friendship could ever turn into something else, wondered what it'd be like to have those arms wrapped around her, to hear that voice and know that he'd never have to leave, but she wasn't going to do anything about it, not if he didn't want her to, and as Shang'd made no moves she was fine to keep things as they were. At least, that's what she told herself.

She had finished all her shopping by now, and was making her way back to Khan. She stopped to admire some silks in the dressmaker's shop. She had one silk dress at home, a present from Shang's sister Chien. It was a rich, deep blue in colour, with silver detail around the neck, sleeves and hem, and a pattern of delicate silver stars on one side. A sash of even deeper blue wound around her waist. She loved that dress, though she hardly ever wore it, for fearing of spoiling it. Yes, she had been in the army, and yes she was a skilled swordfighter, but that didn't mean she couldn't indulge herself in a nice dress every now or then.

But she didn't have the money. Oh well, window-shopping was quite good too.

She carried on past the tavern next to the dressmaker's. There was a group of men lounging on seats outside. As she walked by one of them quickly stuck out a leg, causing her to make an undignified leap to avoid it. She spun round.

' What was that for?' she asked indignantly.

' Decided to be a girl today have you?' the man said mockingly, ' Trying to decide what to wear when you go to camp?'

She blushed a little, not knowing why she did so, and glared at him. _Maybe he's drunk_, she thought. She had never seen him before, or his companions, who sniggered at his last comment. They must be visiting, which was fine with her because it'd mean she wouldn't have to see the disagreeable bunch again.

'What was that for?' she demanded again, 'What have I ever done to make you act like this?'

His manner changed suddenly, and he looked angry.

'Why should I,' he cried, his voice rising, ' why should I have to give an answer to you, you filth. I shouldn't even be lowering myself so much as to speak with the army's travelling flower girl!'

He had yelled the last bit. The whole street had gone deathly quiet. Mulan's face went from red to drained of nearly all colour. She took a step towards the man.

'What,' she whispered dangerously, 'did you just call me?'

' Don't act all insulted. You think that we would swallow all that trash you fed everyone. Pah! A soldier would have been killed for what you did. But I suppose you had a little something to offer the commanders, didn't you?' he sneered ' something to bargain with to save your worthless hide. I'll bet all that stuff about saving the Emperor was a cover-up, wasn't it? To save the army from embarrassment when everyone found out. As if a runty little wench like you could ever keep up with men.' He spat at her feet.

A few gasps could be heard. Mulan recoiled as if she'd been slapped.

' How dare you,' she said, her voice loud in the resumed silence ' how dare you!'

She sprung forward, a swift kick to the man's stomach knocking the wind out of him. She was angry now, not only was he insulting her in the worst possible way, he was insulting her family, and making a complete mockery of all the pain she had been through to cope in the army, as well as her fighting skills. Well he was going to be proved wrong now. She didn't care about what laws she was breaking, or the dishonour this was likely to bring to her. The only thing she cared for was making the fool in front of her pay for what he'd just said.

Before her larger opponent could react she delivered a fierce blow to his jaw which left him reeling. She swung her legs round and knocked the feet from under him, all the time dodging the ineffective blows raining down on her. He crashed into one of the benches, then fell to the floor. She punched his skull with all the force and anger she could, knocking him out. The weight she gave to the swing forced her to half-summersault over him.

The whole thing had taken less than a minute. She stood over him, breathing lightly. There was no sign of his friends. Astonished onlookers gaped at her, and she was sure one woman had fainted.

The deafening of silence was broken by the sound of hooves. Two men bearing the Emperor's crest rode up.

'Fa Mulan.' Said one of them, bowing.

' Ye Zhong' she replied to the official, her voice wavering a little. Her dislodged hair hid her blushing face as she did so. A member of the Emperor's Consulate was probably not the best person to turn up when she'd just knocked someone unconscious. Perhaps he wouldn't notice.

' Is there anything wrong.' He asked. She blushed even more. He had definitely noticed.

' This man had insulted me to the highest degree, sir, and I am afraid that I had trouble controlling myself.'

'You!' he barked, pointing at someone in the crowd, 'Fetch some water and revive this man!' Mulan remained with her head bowed while people saw to her denouncer. She tried to ignore the rising murmurs. _Oh great, _she thought,_ Back to square one again._ The man finally came round. Ye Zhong had dismounted. He walked towards the dazed man who, after a minute or two, realised the import of his standard and bowed hurriedly. It went quiet again as the official cleared his throat.

' Do you know what you are?' he asked the man in front of him.

'No, sir' came the dutiful reply.

'You are a fool' and with that he delivered the still-reeling guy a clout round the head, the sound of which echoed round the street. The man didn't dare react, Ye Zhong was too powerful.

' That is the least of what you deserve for insulting and assaulting a person with the honour and protection of the Emperor. Pick up that basket!' He ordered, indicating the Mulan's goods, which had been dropped during the fight. The man did so.

' I hope you are not so stupid as to try this again, you'd be lucky to escape with your life if you did. Now I would advise you to get out of my sight as quickly as possible, and be glad I don't ask this women to pick up where she left off.' The man hurried away, looking daggers at Mulan. She sighed with relief, for a moment there she'd forgotten the consulate's nature, forgotten his warm actions to her when she had stayed at the palace. After indicating that the onlookers should return to their own business he turned round to face her.

' Idiot if he said anything to you, he was. Asked for whatever you gave him. I see that the army training wasn't wasted on you.' She gave a sheepish smile; not quite sure whether a comment on her fighting could be a compliment, given from a man who was neither Father or Shang. 'If you get any more trouble than don't hesitate to contact me.' She bowed, amused by his grandfatherly worry towards her, and the contrast with his manner just before.

' Now, the real reason I'm here. I was just passing through and Chou Chien-Po asked me to deliver this.' He handed her a letter with the palace seal on it ' I'll be off now, but first would you like me to escort you home, you must be a bit shaken?'

'No thank you, sir, you have done more than enough already, and I would not want to inconvenience you any further. Thank you for taking the trouble to deliver the letter, and thank you for what you did just now.' Mulan was eager to disappear; she _was_ shaken by it all, and she wanted to get away from the still-staring crowd.

' If you're sure then; farewell Fa Mulan.' The old man ascended the horse, on which he still kept a very good seat, and set off with his companion. As soon as he was gone she began to hurry away, keeping her eyes to the ground and speaking to no-one. Ye Zhong might not have thought ill of her recent behaviour, but she sure knew that a lot of other people did. Leaping onto Khan she set of for home with her mind in turmoil, still reeling from the insult and anger, and with a rising self-disgust that she had descended to his level.

_It should be getting better later on, but I wanted to see what people think of this one. I will be bringing back most of the characters from the movie, and a few of my own creations, but please don't expect me to be historically correct in this, I'm not even sure if the names I've come up with are right. Just a note, flower girl means prostitute if you were getting confused, that's why it's so offensive. Please R&R this and give me some feedback. Please, Please, Please (I squirm on the ground, grovelling) It'd mean a lot to me. Til' next time!_


	2. Chapter 2

I do not own any characters of debatable fiction/non-fiction origins (thankyou Dragon Spirit Fighter!) and basically anything that you recognise isn't mine.

_Ok, first things first. I wanna send out a huuuge thankyou to everyone who reviewed chapter 1, you all had me going about on a high after I'd read them, I was so happy people liked it! I wana thank you all personally as well so here we go_

_Angel432- you were my first ever reviewer and I am eternally grateful to you! _

_Hilarity-Ensues- Long review, nice! I can get where you're coming from with theYeZhong__ age mix up. I was imagining him to be around 50 really, a sort of wise old __guy, him being a consulate and all (exclude Chi-Fu from the equation). Sorry for __the confusion!_

_Animelover 12344- I'm glad somebody likes the detail, people usually fall asleep during my desc__riptive writing! _

_Dragon Spirit Fighter- Thankyou for the welcome. Another long review to get my teeth into.__Thanks for the history lesson :D_

_Jhs Rockerbaby- wahey it seems that my writing's actually doing what I wanted it do for once-__Strange but apparently true_

_MiniEllie- I sorta figured that if anything was going to happen with Mulan/Shang they probably __weren't going to be all 'lovey-dovey', at least not yet. This way means I can have __lots more fun with them first (he,he,he) I'm working on the comedy but you might __have to bear with me for a while, I'm kinda not much good it, but I try!_

_Animejacksparrowlover- Hope this is soon enough for you_

_Phew, I probably won't do that every time or you'll all get bored, but it had to be done. Anywho, on with the show…. _

'Mulan,' her grandmother called 'are you all right?' Mulan had been acting even more preoccupied than usual since her return from the village.

'Yes, Nai Nai, I'm fine.' Mulan felt her grandmother's eyes bore into her as she spoke, she obviously didn't believe her. Mulan hurried away before the interrogation could begin. She was never going to tell her family what she had heard.

Hours had passed since her return, and she had more than enough to keep her busy, but she couldn't stop her thoughts from returning to what had happened. She had known people found her a bit strange, and that some looked down on her for breaking with tradition, but she'd never imagined anything like this. _Flower girl! _Did people seriously believe that was what had taken place? She felt sick every time she thought of it. A complete stranger had come out with all that trash about her, perhaps that was what most people thought? _I suppose several thousand witnesses at the palace isn't good enough for them is it?_ she thought bitterly. Of course it didn't really matter what people thought, she didn't need other people's good opinion. But however many times she said that to herself she still knew it wasn't completely true. She _did_ want people to think well of her, or at least not to think of her badly.

Over the past few hours there had been several occasions on which she had felt a very strong urge to hit something, but she'd managed to control herself. The worst thing about all this was that she couldn't do anything about it. She had no choice but to live with the knowledge, there was really nothing else to do. She had tried to channel some of her furious energy into the many jobs she had been given, but it didn't help much. However much stress you try to take out in sweeping a room, you still hadn't solved the problem by the end of it, though you did have exceptionally clean floors.

She took refuge in her room. She flopped onto her bed and stared up at the ceiling. Could she do anything right? She fails miserably in trying to be a proper lady, so she manages to save the whole of China from marauding Huns and people still think of her as, as a flower girl! Was there anything she could do that was acceptable? _Yes there is,_ she thought, _I could get married and have lots of sons, and only speak when spoken to, and never think of fighting again, act like the invasion never happened. But then I wouldn't be living._ She rolled over and punched the pillows in frustration.

When she'd turned she had felt something in the sash at her waist. She pulled out the letter Ye Zhong had given her. Despite everything the sight of it made her smile. After his efforts in saving the Emperor, Chien-Po had been offered an official placement, which he had readily accepted. Like Mulan he had not joined the army because he'd wanted to, and he had seen enough of war. He was now employed as a high ranking scribe at court, and he took great pleasure out of being useful to people in his own quiet way. He wrote to Mulan once every two weeks and her replies were one of the few things she managed to keep fairly punctual. Looking at it from an informative point of view the letters didn't really have much to say apart from a few lines about palace life, or an update on how Yao and Ling were doing, (Yao had returned to camp as being in the army gave him a legal reason to regularly beat people up, and Ling had managed to get away with doing nothing much for the past half-year). But she always liked reading them, and in fact they were quite useful. When she was stressed or frustrated she had a habit of reading through them, the gentle words and just the decentness that showed through in them were usually able to restore her faith in the world a little.

She broke open the seal and started to read the letter. As usual it was full of nothing much, Chien-Po had met with an artist visiting the palace who was helping him improve his calligraphy, and Yao had got himself into another minor scuffle again, but it didn't matter. The skill of the writer made even the most mundane things interesting. After a little while she finished and started folding the parchment up again, when another slip of paper fell out into her lap. She turned it over and looked at it.

'When a light shines you don't put it under a bucket, so that its light helps no-one. You place it up high so that it shines on to everything around it. In a world of darkness there are some who would prefer to keep things hidden. You are a lamp, do not let those who wish to stay in the dark make you feel a disgrace for being so. Whatever you do you will shine, it is up to you were you will shine the light.'

Mulan sat there in bewilderment. She read the parchment again. The style of writing was different than Chien-Po's , and there was nothing about the message in the letter. She didn't think this was from Chien-Po. But there was no signature, or anything else that would point to the writer's identity. It was so strange. It was almost as if someone had read her thoughts. She hadn't felt such a disgrace for months. _But_, she thought logically, _how could anyone have known in time to write the message? _The latest Chien-Po could have sent the letter was a week ago, to reach her from the palace, it was impossible for someone to know.

She gave up trying to figure out who the message had come from and thought of what it said instead. It was strange yes, but when she read it she found herself able to see things from another point of view. She hadn't done anything wrong, she had nothing to be ashamed of. She didn't have to let these people get to her, _she_ knew that she had done the right thing. And as long as she had friends and family who loved her she didn't have to care about what anyone else thought. She had known all this before, but the fact that someone else had confirmed it, and that the someone else was apparently a complete stranger and they were still able to see it, brought it home to her. It didn't make any of the words that had been said less painful, but now she could take a step back and look at things in perspective. But as for all that stuff about lamps, she was blown if she knew what they were going on about.

'Mulan! Mulan! Where are you?' she heard someone call, snapping her out of her reverie. She heard footsteps and her mother stood at the door.

'Have you been here all along? I've been looking for you for an age, it seems. Come, I need your help in the kitchen'

Mulan scrambled off her bed, putting the scrap of paper in her sash for safekeeping, and left the room in higher spirits, but even more puzzles than she had entered it with.

Mulan didn't have time to think about anything other than the tasks at hand for an hour or so. It was late spring, the nights were getting longer, and the Li s weren't expected until early evening but her mother was very particular when it came to visitors, and insisted that everything in the house was perfect. Everything had to be cleaned, new rooms had to be made up, food had to be prepared etc., etc. What amazed Mulan was that she was sure the whole place had been spotless before they started, with Fa Li living there it could hardly be anything else. When her mother had finally released her she went to the stables to see Khan.

They had always had horses and Mulan found the smell of straw and horse a comforting one. Khan came over as soon as she walked in.

'I spoil you too much you know,' she laughed, giving him the carrot she had filched from the kitchens 'if you had it your way you'd be as fat as those chickens!' The horse gave her a disapproving look

' I think I'll have to put you on a diet, hmm? Coarse grain at every feeding and half an apple every other week, how about that?' for an answer she was sent flying into a bale of hay by a quick but of the horse's head. While she was wallowing in the straw, trying unsuccessfully to stand up again, there was a loud knock on the outside doors. Scrambling to her feet she paused a moment to try and get some of the straw off her outfit, and to foretell dire punishments for the sniggering horse before rushing away to answer it.

She gave her head one last shake as she reached the wooden gates, lifted the bar off the latch and opened the door. When she saw who it was she grinned.

'Captain Li Shang, Lady Li Chien' she said bowing, a mischievous look on her face. She only gave the formal acknowledgement because she knew how much it annoyed her friend Chien.

'Hello to you too Mulan!' said the elegant girl who'd just stepped from the carriage. 'Are you ever going to stop doing that?' she asked wearily.

Mulan folded her arms, still grinning.

'What do you think?' she asked.

Chien sighed. 'That's a no then.' She rolled her eyes at her brother 'How on earth you got Mulan to follow orders in the army is beyond me.' She said, smiling.

'With great difficulty.' Shang said dryly, an amused look on his face. ' I must say, the straw goes very well with your dress.'

Mulan made a face at him.

'Blame the horse, not me. _I _didn't ask to thrown into a load of straw. Is there still a lot there?'

'Yeah, loads of it.' He said, smiling too

'He's winding you up Mulan, you can hardly see it'

'Good, or mama would have a fit. Well, do you two want to stay standing here 'till morning or would you like to come in?' She didn't wait for an answer and opened the door wider to let Shang's horse through. Chien's carriage had left by now.

'Come on, we'll see to Samir before we go up to the house.'

'Sorry,' came Chien, 'No can do. I've got a new dress on today; I'd be in for it if it gets messed up. I'll just wait here if that's alright.' Shang shot her an unimpressed look for the complete lie she'd just told, but Chien was hiding behind her fan, the part of her face that could be seen the picture of innocence.

'Suit yourself. You coming Shang? Mulan asked, completely oblivious to what was going on.

'Er, yeah, it's my horse isn't it?'

Chien watched the two walk off and smiled to herself. Just because she was younger than them didn't mean she was stupid. It was kinda obvious Shang had _something_ in mind when it came to Mulan, why else would he have introduced the two of them? When they'd first met Chien had been pretty excited, this was the heroine of China after all, but she was also intrigued as to what sort of woman had managed to win her brother's heart. She had found someone beautiful, lively, intelligent, witty, hardworking and apparently completely unaware that they possessed all this. _(A/N I don't particularly rate things it that order, it just sounded better that way)_ She also found a great friend, and the two girls had become quite close. Mulan, being 17 was two years older than she was and Chien looked up to her almost like an elder sister. But the one thing they never talked about was the thing, as it seemed to Chien, that was staring them in the face, i.e. the fact her brother was obviously in love with Mulan, and that as far as she could tell Mulan had a thing for him too. Neither of them had ever said it, but when they were with each other it just showed. Chien couldn't think of anything better than if the two would get together, but they both seemed so shy. Getting them on their own more often was a probably a good idea, but she told herself that was all she would do, you couldn't really hurry things like this.

'So, how you doing?' asked Mulan as they walked along.

'I'm doing OK. I managed to get leave for a while, so I might be able to relax for once. How about you?'

'Oh, I'm fine.' He raised an eyebrow at her, 'really'

'You don't sound convinced.'

She felt a blush spread across her cheeks. _Oh no, there's absolutely no way I'm telling Shang what people have been saying. The whole stupid rumour was about him, albeit indirectly, and me. There is nothing that anybody could possibly do to get me to tell him_ _that!_

'Mulan, what's up?' Those brown eyes were gazing at her, full of concern.

She looked away; she really didn't trust herself when it came to Shang. ' I, erm, sorta,' he was still looking at her expectantly. She gave up. ' I'll tell you about it some other time.' Mulan berated herself mentally, _You are so weak on this guy!_ She tried dismissing it all. ' It's not like it's important or anything.'

'It's bothering you, that makes it important.'

Now certain that she looked like one of those apples she'd bought this morning Mulan didn't say anything, in an attempt to prevent any sort of mix up between what was going through her head and what came out her mouth. They walked along in quiet for a while. She cast about for another subject.

'How long are you staying for?' she asked.

'That depends on how long you can put up with Chien and me.'

'In that case,' she laughed, loosening up again, 'you'll probably be out in half a day, knowing the way you two bicker.'

Shang took mock offence. 'Fine then, if you want to be like that!'

'Seriously though,' she went on, once they had recovered from Shang's amateur dramatics, 'how long do you expect to be here for?'

'Well, seriously, I'm still not sure. I don't have to be anywhere for a week-and-a-half at least, and Chien's not busy as far as I know. So it's probably going to be a case of just turning us out when you get bored of us.'

'That'd take a long time, don't worry.' She said, flashing a smile.

They had reached the stables while they were talking, and now they started to sort out the horses' tackle. Shang didn't have any trouble about where to put things; he'd been in the stables so often that he knew them almost as well as his own back home. Mulan gave Samir another carrot that she'd intended to give Khan before the interruption, and they gave the horse a rub down. Khan was shooting jealous stares over their way, and got all moody when she said that he'd already had his share. As a result Shang, who had stepped a bit too close and who Khan had never liked much anyway, ended up flying into the exact same spot Mulan had been thrown into a few minutes ago. When she had stopped laughing Mulan got round to helping him up and, suddenly remembering Chien waiting for them, they hurried back to the courtyard.

'Have I missed something' Chien asked looking them up and down amusedly 'and straw's now this season's must-have accessory? You two look a right pair!'

'Like I said before, blame the horse.' answered Mulan, who was still giggling a little, 'Don't you agree Shang?'

'Yes, blame the horse, and preferably issue some sort of punishment.' said Shang, who'd been hit a good deal harder than Mulan had. Fa Li suddenly popped her head around the front door.

Are you three ever going to come in?' she asked. They all looked a bit sheepish, they hadn't realised that the Li's arrival had been noticed, then Mulan led the way up the steps.

_Hey, did you like it? I think this one's a bit shorter than chapter 1 because I decided I'd better split it when it'd reached 10 pages and I still hadn't finished. Which should mean that Chapter 3 should be up by tomorrow the latest. HAPPY NEW YEAR EVERYBODY!!!!_


	3. Chapter 3

**I'm sure you're fed up with reading disclaimers by now, so just don't sue me OK**

_I lied I'm sorry, it wasn't intentional. I did honestly think I would be able to post this the next day, but that was before I discovered the day-before-school-starts stack of homework hiding in the mountain of junk that is my desk. Then my evil teachers gave me homework for every single lesson the first day back, then they gave me even more the day after and…_ _I think you get the picture. It's no excuse I know, but thankyou all for being patient, and thankyou very much to everyone who reviewed; Angel 452, MiniEllie, Dragon Spirit Fighter and Little Birdie. _

Mulan flopped down onto the bed again but out of pure tiredness this time rather than frustration. Persuading herself that it wouldn't be a good idea to fall asleep fully dressed she managed to pull herself up and attempt getting changed. Her room seemed a lot smaller with the extra bed in it. She had offered Chien one of the spare rooms, and if she insisted on being with her than at least the best bed, but Chien would have none of it.

Chien appeared through a door leading to the other rooms that made up Mulan's suite.

'You know, I'm wide awake.' She said sitting down on the spare bed, 'It doesn't really feel like night-time at all does it?'

'Speak for yourself.' Mulan grumbled 'I'm shattered.' But the younger girl was relentless, she wanted to stay up and talk. After much protesting Mulan eventually agreed, on the condition that she just let her finish what she had tried to start 10 minutes ago, that is getting changed, first. The two got in to their respective beds and settled down for a good natter.

'So how's your stay been so far?'

'Great thankyou, Miss Hostess. It's a shame that we don't get to come more often, but with Shang away so much…' Chien looked thoughtful for a moment, 'hey, why don't you come over to our house sometime?'

'I couldn't, I'm sorry.'

'Why not?'

'How would I be able to get there? It's three days ride at least, and my family would never let me go that far on my own.'

'Er hello here, you defeated Shan-Yu, youcan look after yourself!'

'Yeah, I know, but you know what parents are like.' She gave a shrug 'I wouldn't really want to leave them for so long anyway, none of them are getting any younger. They rely on me.'

Chien went back to thinking again.

'You know, It's only two weeks to my birthday. It sounds strange, the idea of me being sixteen. It sounds really old.'

'What does that make me then?' exclaimed Mulan.

'Positively ancient.' Chien replied with a grin.

'Huh! You're supposed to show respect for your elders you know.'

'Yes O venerable one!' She turned a little serious again. 'Sixteen, you know what that means?

'Er, you're allowed to go join the army?'

Chien gave her a strange look. 'No. I'll have to go see the matchmaker soon.

'What do you think of that?' Mulan wanted to know.

'I don't really know. I mean I want to be married sometime of course, but does it really have to be now? I'm still a girl, how can I suddenly change into a women just because I turn sixteen? I mean what about, like, children, and stuff. I've got friends who were pregnant when they were a little older than me. I couldn't cope with that, I'm only a child myself, I'm not about to give birth to one!' Chien had speeded up, the words spilling out over each other, and she sounded almost scared. Mulan listened very intently, it seemed like Chien had been worrying about this for a long time.

'And what about my husband, what if he doesn't like me, or I don't like him. I won't know anything about him except his name. I don't want to leave home and go to live with a complete stranger for the rest of my life!' There were tears in her eyes now 'Mulan, how did you cope with all this?'

Mulan got up and went to put her arms round her friend. Chien started to cry, just a little. _What am I supposed to say?_ Mulan thought, _everything she's saying is true. _So she just sat there, rocking her gently, waiting for the tears to stop. She had a flash of inspiration.

'Who's responsible for you now, now that your father's gone.' She asked.

'Shang, I think,' came the wavering reply, 'he's my nearest male relative.'

'Well,' said Mulan, in a conspiring sort of voice,' why don't you go up to him tomorrow and explain to him that you don't feel you're ready to get married yet, and ask him if he can delay anything like that until you think you can cope with it.'

'Do you think he'll agree?'

Mulan gave her a playful shove 'Have you hit your head? Of course he'll agree, what do you think he is, a monster? And despite teasing you all the time you know as well as I do that your brother loves you and wouldn't want to loose you so soon anyway.'

'Thankyou Mulan.' Chien said tearfully, giving her a hug

'It's nothing. Hey,' she said, trying to lighten the mood a bit, 'did I ever tell you what happened when _I _went to see the matchmaker?'

A while later Mulan was back in her own bed listening to the sounds of Chien sleeping. She had forgotten what it was like to be waiting for that day to come, that day that would define the rest of your life. _Poor Chien._ She'd obviously been mulling things over for weeks, all the possibilities running through her head, no way of knowing or of stopping what was going to take place. Most girls were excited about their matchmaker visit, wondering what clothes they were going to wear, and what their betrothed would be like. Chien seemed to have a different outlook, where as most girls wanted to grow up and act the part of a lady, Chien didn't want to give up her childhood before she was ready. It didn't surprise Mulan; Chien was never just a giggling bride-to-be. Mulan had never met her mother but if she ever did she intended to go and shake her by the hand for the obvious effect she had on her daughter, bringing her up to be thoughtful and sensitive, not to just keep quiet about things but to do something to change them, and most of all to respect herself. Yes, she had a lot of respect for Mrs. Li.

She was sure Shang would understand when Chien asked him about it. It wasn't as if there was any need for her to marry soon, the Li's were very well off she knew, with their father being a general. She also knew that Shang wouldn't leave his sister unhappy if there was anything he could do about it.

She turned over, unable to sleep. Chien's thoughts on marriage had triggered off her own worries on the subject, of which she had many. She probably should have made another trip to the matchmaker's already, but as no one had mentioned it she wasn't going to hurry the unwanted event. If public disgrace at her last appointment wasn't bad enough, there was now the fact that in joining the army she had gone against everything that the matchmaker stood for. Mulan wasn't expecting a pleasant meeting. She wasn't sure if she wanted to get married anyway, at least not through the conventional channels. If a man wanted her hand because of any abilities that impressed the matchmaker than he wasn't going to be a man she could be happy with.

But what else could she do? She was already quite an oddity, 17 with no attachment or any plans to be so. Not that she didn't like living with her parents, but she'd always expected to have her own home one day, and now it seemed likely that she was going to stuck there until she was an old maid. Of course love matches did sometimes happen, but what were the possibilities of that? The only non-related guy she knew well was Shang, and though she often daydreamed along those lines she couldn't really imagine Shang seeing her as anything but a friend, she wasn't all together sure that he'd managed to merge Mulan and 'Ping' into one person yet.

She realised that her cheek was damp and dried it off angrily. _Don't you start_, she told herself, _it's not like there's anything to cry about._ Sitting up she stared at the room around her, trying to think of something else. It didn't work, she knew it wouldn't have done, it never did. With the vague idea that it'd be better to be doing something rather than nothing, she quietly slid out of bed and, careful not to wake Chien, slipped out of the room. At camp she'd been trained to move quickly and stealthily and she soon made it into the garden

The stone dragon, where she used to sit at times like these, had been taken away ages ago, at least the remains of it had. She went to sit down by the pond. The stars were reflected in it as in a mirror, looking like someone had carelessly thrown some priceless jewels into it's murky waters, and a silver moon hung low in the sky. It was all so still, so quiet.

She didn't know why but suddenly she felt tears run down her face, and this time she didn't try to stop them. 'Crying is just your emotions flowing out' she remembered someone saying, which made sense because it seemed impossible to keep what she was feeling stuck inside, even if she wasn't sure _what_ she was feeling. _What is wrong with me today?_ she asked herself,_ I look forward to this visit for weeks and when it finally comes I spend all night moping._ Finding no answer she sat there and let her muffled sobs fade into the darkness. All around her seemed so still, so peaceful.

Shang woke up early, as he always did. As the general quiet told him that the others were still sleeping, and as the guestrooms were right next to the garden, he decided he might as well get up and go for a walk rather than sit in his room waiting. As he reached the garden he realised that he wasn't the only one there, someone was over by the water. As he came closer he could see that it was Mulan, she wasn't moving. His mind jumping to all sorts of conclusions he rushed over in time to see her head turn slightly, and realised that she was only sleeping.

He breathed a sigh of relief, then tried to figure out what was going on here. Mulan always had been offbeat, but this was bordering on the strange. He knew that she had at least started out in her own room with Chien, he'd heard them talking once as he went past. _(A/N Don't worry he wasn't listening to their conversation or nothing) _Which begged the question of why on earth she was out here, asleep, just before seven in the morning. For all his military training he wasn't going to come up with the soluion for this, the only way he'd find out was to ask.

He reached over to the sleeping figure and shook her shoulder. 'Mulan, Mulan, wake up.' She moaned something unintelligible and tried to roll over before wincing and thinking better of it. Her eyes opened blearily

'What?' she said groggily, looking about her.

'I think it'd be better if you sat up. You're going to have terrible cramp you know.' Shang said, shaking his head with an amused look on his face. Mulan learned very quickly that he was right; a night on the cold, hard ground had not been the most comfortable of experiences. She took his advice and sat up. She was feeling really cold.

'What am I doing out here?' she asked, eyes roaming over herself in her night-clothes, Shang and their surroundings.

'I was about to ask you the same question.'

She blinked hard, trying to clear her head. 'Aw, my back' she said, wincing again. Memory returned to her.

'Oh yeah, I couldn't sleep so I thought I'd come out here for a while. I didn't mean to drop off though!' she added, annoyed with herself. He couldn't help laughing at the face she made.

'If it wasn't for the fact that my best arm has been rendered useless after being crushed all night you'd be in for it, Captain Li. Waking a girl from her beauty sleep,' she sniffed, 'shocking behaviour!'

'It's still pretty early, you know,' he commented, completely ignoring her banter, 'you could probably catch up on a few hours before you need to be up.'

'That sounds like a good idea.' She agreed, stifling a yawn. Shang helped her up and they set off to the house, Mulan muttering occasionally about the cramp in her legs. They went in quietly so as not to disturb the others. When they reached Mulan's room Shang turned to her.

'Try and stay in there this time.' He whispered. She gave a smile.

'I'll try. Thanks for helping.'

He just grinned and she silently entered the room. Chien was still there, fast asleep. As quietly as she could manage she made it to her bed, and had soon drifted off again.

_I'm not quite sure about this chapter, I might have to come back to it later on. I know vaguely where this story's going but only the major plotline and I need to fill to it out a bit. I know it's been pretty thin on the action/adventure side so far, but it'll be coming soon I promise. As to the whole Mulan/Shang issue, it's all uncertain at the moment, I'll just have to wait and see where the story ends up. You can tell this is the first time I've done this can't you? Please R&R, it's great when I know what people are thinking of this. One last thanks to Little Birdie for the 'wonderful' comment, that really encouraged me. Later everyone!_


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